Carnival in the past and the etymological meaning of the word

Carnival is a period usually between January and March that does not have a fixed start and end date, it identifies a great festival that is celebrated mainly in countries with a Christian / Catholic tradition. In much of Italy the celebrations already begin after the holiday that closes Christmas or the Epiphany and strictly end on Shrove Tuesday, giving way to the period of Lent which opens precisely on Ash Wednesday.

 

The intrinsic meaning of Carnival is very ancient and recalls a period of colorful joy in which everything is allowed play, joke and pretense. We have testimonies from Ancient Egypt in which there were usual celebrations and events in honor of the goddess Isis with the presence of masked groups. Similar custom in Greece with festivals in honor of the God Dionysus.

 

The ancient Romans honored Saturn through, precisely the "Saturnalia", which in addition to the usual dances, songs, games and disguises provided a sort of overturning of the pre-established orders, giving way, for this period, to irony, mockery and sarcasm towards the customs of strong powers then present. February for Ancient Rome was also the month in which the fertility of the earth was celebrated, which began to awaken after the winter hibernation to offer humans and animals the nutritional sustenance necessary for the proliferation of species. Not only that, in February for the ancient Romans it was the month in which they recalled the rite of purifications, which was manifested by honoring the dead with offerings and prayers. This confirmed that in the same month there were rites of fertility and commemorations of mourning, a sort of alternation of laughter and tears, this placed the importance of living a life in joy and carefree as an antithesis to death and its fears. The Panem et Circenses literally “bread and circus games”, ie distribution of wheat and large celebrations organized by the rulers, are closed to the excursus on the living rituals in the Roman Empire. The latter, through such demonstrations, tried to grab the approval and the "benevolence" of the plebs.

 

In the thirteenth century the old European continent, strongly Catholic, institutionalized this feast by formally inserting it in the Christian calendar. Soon the story became common in many parts of Italy.

 

The etymological meaning of the word Carnival is subject to different interpretations could derive from the Latin carnem levare or carne levamen that is "eliminate the meat", as it indicated the last rich and sumptuous banquet that was held on Shrove Tuesday, immediately before the period of abstinence and fasting scheduled for Lent.

 

Secondly, the term may have taken its meaning from the word carnualia or "country games" or finally even from carrus navalis literally "ship on wheels" or the rite that involved the procession of a ship as sacred on a chariot, the first possible representation of a chariot carnival.